Health & Safety Labs

Client: Shepherd Construction Ltd Contract Value: Circa £155,000

The HSL site at Harpur Hill near Buxton is a massive 222 ha, such a vast area being essential because of the sheer scale and nature of its testing work that has included, for example, full-size tunnels where disasters such as the King's Cross fire can be recreated, Europe's largest impact test track for crash testing trains, and replicating some of the more bizarre accidents such as heating up shipping containers packed with fireworks until they explode. In addition to the actual testing, HSL also has to store all the evidence it collects during an investigation. Funded under the Government's Private Finance Initiative (PFI), the £56m project provides scientific and engineering laboratories, engineering workshops, offices, meeting rooms, library and other supporting facilities, all finished to the most exacting standards by Johns of Nottingham, in a range of high performance, hygienic and decorative coatings.